Asterisk Local channel disappears or optimization fails

Freeze one Local-channel chronology

Record installed branch, dial string and modifiers, both Local halves, stable IDs, linked ID, source and destination channels, bridge IDs, LocalBridge, manager request and response, correlated Begin and End events, final bridge membership, variables, recording state and caller-visible result.

Classify the first symptom: expected optimization, unexpected disappearance, no Begin event, Begin without End, unsuccessful End, stale channel target, variable or feature loss, bridge mismatch, recording discontinuity or one-way audio.

Decide whether disappearance is expected

Without /n, a bridged Local channel can optimize out of the media path. If the downstream call remains connected and the correlated optimization succeeds, a missing Local name may be the intended result. Follow its unique IDs, linked ID, bridge events and surviving channels instead of treating name lookup failure as teardown.

If later logic needs the Local identity or its state, retain it deliberately with /n rather than relying on timing.

Verify modifiers and action availability

Inspect the effective dial string. /n prevents automatic optimization; /j depends on /n; /b changes which underlying channel is returned to a query; /m changes music-on-hold indication handling. Do not merge their effects.

For explicit optimization, check local manager action help, loaded module state and manager permissions. Resolve a current Local half before sending LocalOptimizeAway; a name captured before replacement or optimization can already be stale.

Prove bridge eligibility and correlate the attempt

LocalOptimizeAway permits optimization for an /n Local channel; it does not by itself prove that the halves are in an eligible bridged state. Capture both memberships immediately before the action.

Match LocalOptimizationBegin and LocalOptimizationEnd by their operation Id, then read End Success. Treat no Begin, unmatched End and an unsuccessful End as different evidence paths rather than retrying blindly.

Rebuild the resulting topology

After a successful End, follow bridge-leave and bridge-enter events and take a new membership snapshot. Depending on the initial bridge sizes, a surviving channel may move or two bridges may merge. An old bridge ID or Local-channel name is not proof that the wrong call survived.

Use stable channel identifiers and the final party set to determine whether the intended endpoints remain connected.

Follow state and media beyond optimization

If the right parties remain but behavior changes, check which variables, time limits, features, recording hooks and continuation logic belonged to the optimized Local channel. Then verify negotiated streams, packet direction and audible media on the surviving path.

Do not repair an expected identity transition by changing registration, codecs or NAT. No PBX, AMI session, manager user, permission, dialplan, Local channel, bridge, packet, media stream or live call was inspected or tested for this diagnostic.

Take a fresh bounded channel snapshot after optimization

The channel snapshot diagnostic reconciles surviving names, stable IDs and final bridge membership.

Exclude filtered Local optimization events

The AMI event diagnostic rebuilds per-session delivery state after reconnect.

Compare the Local pair with the surviving endpoint channel

The channel lifetime diagnostic correlates name, Uniqueid, Linkedid, bridge and lifecycle evidence.